Concrete railway-tie.



Patented May 3, 1904.

UNITED c. 4STATES PATENT OFFICE- LOUIS BEEZER AND MICHAEL J. BEEZER, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

CONCRETE RAILWAY-TIE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. I758,613, dated May 3, 1904, Application filed June 8, 1903. Serial No. 160,453. (No model.)

To all whom, it Ina/y concer/1,:

Beit known that we, LOUIS BEEZER and MICHAEL J. BnEZnR, citizens of the United States, residing at Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented or discovered new and useful Improvements in Concrete Railway-Ties, of which the following is a specification.

In the accompanying drawings, which make part of this specification, Figure 1 is a plan view of our invention, a central portion being removed. Fig. 2 is across-section taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a view taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. l.

Our invention relates to railway appliances, and more particularly to railway-ties and railfastening devices.

It is the object of our invention to provide a substitute for the common wooden ties, which owing to the growing scarcity of suitable wood and their increasing cost must give way to a superior and permanent article. We have devised a tie which is not only cheaper, by affecting agreat saving in maintenance, but one which, with its rail connections, is practically indestructible. Our tie being thoroughly waterproofed will not be affected by frost,and the parts are so strongly united that they will not become broken or separated. We also give the rails a suitable elastic bed, which not only makes the train less noisy and less injurious to the rolling-stock, but also prevents to a large degree the pounding action of the car-wheels from being transmitted so suddenly to the concrete portion of the ties, the result being that the ties will not be cracked or broken.

Referring to the drawings, A represents the tie as a whole, having the beveled sides and ends, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, which retain the tie more securely in the ballast. All the body of tie is made of slag, cement, concrete, or other plastic material which will set or becomehard and has embedded in it when formed a steel plate B, having the bottom I) and the upwardly-extending flanges b,which are inclined toward each other and lie substantially parallel with the sides of the tie, the plate thus having a U-shaped cross-section. The sides 2) and the bottom are provided with numerous holes b2, which allow the concrete to pass through, so as to tie or bind the concrete into a more solid homogeneous mass than would be the case if the concrete were unconnected along the entire surface of an unperforated plate. The plate B extends nearly the entire length of the tie.

Beneath each rail E is a block of wood D, which tits closely between the flanges b and sits on the bottom b of the steel plate B and gives a degree of elasticity to the rails.

On top of the wooden block D and partially below the top of the concrete is a layer of hydraulic compressed ground-cork composition (waterproofed) F, which forms a cushion and makes the trains less Ynoisy and prevents to a large degree any injury to the rolling-stock and the pounding action of the wheels from being transmitted so suddenly and sharply to the concrete portion of the tie. A pressedsteel cap-plate Gr is seated on the cushion F and has its edges g flanged or turned down, so as to cover and protect the upper edges of the cushion, keeping out the water and preventing the squeezing out of the cork. The rail E lies directly on the plate G and is held in place by the spikes H, which pass down through holes in the plate Gr, cork F, and block D.

The concrete we prefer to use is made of slag and cement; but we do not desire to be limited to this composition, as other plastic hardening compositions may be used to accomplish the same result.

Having described our invention, we claim#- 1. In a railway-tie, a plastic material, a metal plate embedded therein and having upturned sides, a wooden block between said sides, elastic material on the said block, a metal cap-plate on the said elastic material, and means for securing the rail on the said cap-plate.

2. In a railway-tie, a plastic material, a metal plate embedded therein and having upturned sides, a wooden block between said sides and under the rails, elastic material on the said block` D, a metal cap-plate on the said elastic material, said cap-plate having downwardly-turned edges which overlie thc edges of the elastic cushioning material, and

IOO

block of wood embedded therein and cork on the wood,vtl1e Woodand the cork forming an elasticbase for the rail.

7. In a railway-tie, a plastic material, a metal plate embedded therein, a block ot' wood 2O supported by the plate, cork on the wood, and a metal cap 0n the cork.

Signed at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, this 3d day of June, 1903.

LOUIS BEEZER. MICHAEL J. BEEZER.

Vitnesses:

F. N. BARBER, A. M. STEEN 

